“If you understand the bigger picture it makes sense,” he said at the launch of the 2027 World Cup in Johannesburg last week. “We must put it into context. If you look at viewership numbers or if you look at popularity for ODI cricket, we don’t really know where it is going. I do see more opportunities for Associates in the T20 world.”
Specifically, van Vuuren believes that “the funding mechanisms will change towards T20 World Cups” and Associate nations will benefit from distributions focused on growing the game in that format. Although there is no confirmation on what future financial models could look like, especially after the ICC negotiates a new rights deal for post-2027, van Vuuren believes money will be geared towards getting “more Associates into high-level cricket the T20 way”.
The T20 World Cup has not been exempt to change either and the 2028 edition will see the introduction of a global qualifier to replace the current regional ones. That means instead of slots being allocated per continent – a system which saw Italy and Uganda qualify for the most recent two editions of the T20 World Cup, the top performing Associates will go into a single qualifying tournament to decide who makes it to the tournament. According to van Vuuren, this is a temporary measure which could change ahead of the 2030 event. “That’s going to be an interesting one. As I understand it, the global qualifier is an interim step. There’s going to be another structure post this qualifier for T20. And that is linked to the funding structure of the ICC.”
The ICC remains in consultation over the future of the game and expects a report designed by strategy and management firm McKinsey to be presented to it at the next round of meetings in November. By then, members would have met at a Future Tours Programme (FTP) workshop in September when the next cycle of fixtures (running between 2027 and 2031) will be inked in, although some series like next year’s Ashes have already been announced. The FTP is expected to be finalised and signed off at the quarterly meeting in November.
It is possible the World Test Championship will expand to include, at least, Zimbabwe with Ireland and Afghanistan’s interest in playing more Tests still low and financially draining, though there is no confirmation on what the calendar will look like for Associates. Van Vuuren remains positive that the outlook will improve, especially with cricket’s continued push to establish itself as an Olympic sport.
“The chairman (Jay Shah) has a big vision to grow cricket into the biggest sport in the world,” van Vuuren said. “If you want to do that, you have to grow the Associate teams. And to do that, you have to create more opportunities for Associates.”
